Tubeworms, and the seafloor hydrothermal vents where many of them
live, were first discovered in 1977 by scientists diving in the Pacific
Ocean in the submersible Alvin. Encased in long, hard, white tubes, vent
tubeworms absorb chemical-rich fluids emanating from the vents. Inside
their bodies, the worms harbor endosymbiotic microbes; in exchange for a
safe place to live, the microbes use the vent chemicals to produce
organic carbon that feeds the tubeworms. Since 1977, scientists have
found many other vent sites in oceans around the world, surrounded by
tubeworms, shrimp, clams, mussels, and other deep-sea life sustained in
the absence of light and photosynthesis by vent fluids. But curiously,
they had never found a tubeworm at a hydrothermal vent in the Atlantic
Ocean. Until this guy, which was discovered during a 2011 expedition to
the Mid-Cayman Spreading Center. See story on Page 26.